Nathan Brown laced up, with the help of his mom, on Monday morning before heading out on a six kilometre fundraising walk benefiting children in Madagascar.
“They don’t have fresh water,” explained Nathan of the plight of the children of the island nation.
Jocelyn Brown, Nathan’s mom, says her son is a very giving kid who learned of the issue during a talk with his family.
“We got in a talk one day that we can just get fresh water out of our tap. He then realized that some kids don’t have fresh water,” said Jocelyn. “He took it upon himself and he said he was going to raise money and give that money to kids that don’t have water.”
To raise funds for the cause, Nathan created a zoo using his collection of dinosaur toys and began charging admission. The fruits of his labour flourished and, in roughly six weeks, he collected a staggering amount ahead of his participation in the Walk for Water.
“He is the youngest fundraiser by far and he’s got the most money through the Aveda Institute,” said Jocelyn. “He’s raised almost $1,500.”
The Walk for Water participants, including Nathan, walked a six kilometre route that represents the average distance women and children in the African country walk to collect water.
“It makes me very, very proud that he has such a caring heart and he is willing to just give any money that he has got in the past month and a half, that he’s willing to just give it up instantly.”
In addition to the Calgary walk, Walk for Water events were held on Monday in Kelowna, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg.
Nathan says he planned to take part in the charity walk every day before his mom gently reminded him that the walk happens on an annual basis.
